Jabs for kids below 12 is likely only at govt centres
NEW DELHI: Covid-19 vaccination for children under 12 is likely to be made available at government-run vaccination centres if the government decides to include them in the vaccination programme, people familiar with the development said, adding that no decision has been taken on the matter.
India’s drugs regulator has approved the use of two coronavirus vaccines – Corbevax and Covaxin – in children under the age of 12 but the government is yet to expand the Covid-19 vaccination drive to this age group.
“There is no decision on this (expanding vaccination in children under 12) yet; however, if it goes below 12 then it will most likely be government-controlled as it is very young children we are talking about; we have to be doubly careful with the process,” said a senior government functionary aware of the matter.
Currently, the government is administering vaccines to children aged 12 and above under the national Covid immunisation programme. Bharat Biotech’s inactivated whole virion vaccine that was developed in partnership with the Indian
Council of Medical Research, is being administered in children aged 15-18 years, and Biological E’s recombinant protein subunit vaccine that was developed in collaboration with the Texas Children’s Hospital and the Bayit lor College, in children aged 12 -15 years under the national Covid-19 immunisation programme.
SII’S Covid vaccine, Covovax, was also recently allowed for emergency use in children aged 12 and above but is available only at the private vaccination centres. “The technical experts are on the job, and are going through the available evidence,” added the official. In April, this year, the national drugs regulator also granted emergency use authorisation to Corbevax for use in children aged 5-12 years, along with Covaxin for children aged 6-12.
According to Dr Gagandeep
Kang, senior vaccine expert and faculty, CMC, Vellore, a decision should be made based on riskbenefit analysis.
“Benefits are clear in children with comorbidities. Small chance of serious disease in healthy children, but vaccination does decrease that chance,” she said. Talking about the risks, she said: “Will rare side effects from vaccines exceed benefit since disease is also rare? Here, if disease is dependent on rates of infection in the population, it is possible in times of low circulation, side effects may be more than severe cases prevented,” she added.